210: Tarren Camm | A Chef on a Mission to Serve Other Chefs

Chef Life Radio: Strategies to Empower Culinary Leadership for Success, Sanity, and Satisfaction in the Culinary Industry

Does this sound familiar? You've been told to smile more, be more positive, and just act like you're happy to be there, even when you're not. But you're not seeing any positive change in your industry. You're still stuck in the same dead-end job.

"Something has got to give. And hospitality. The service industry in general, outside of chefs, bartenders, waitresses, waiters, et cetera, it's being exposed to the point that it has to change."

Tarren Camm is a chef and hospitality industry professional from Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in kitchens around the world and is now a fitness industry professional.

This is Tarren Camm's story...

Tarren Camm is a chef from Melbourne, Australia. He started his career washing dishes and eventually became a head steward. He then transitioned into working in lower-end pubs and higher-end restaurants. Cramm eventually found his home in cafes, which he says is a great place to deliver quality food at a fair price. He then moved to London to open a Melbourne-style brunch cafe. After returning to Melbourne, Cramm switched to the fitness industry. He now works with chefs all over the world to help them improve their physical and mental health.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. The importance of mindfulness and self-care for chefs and other hospitality workers.

2. The challenges of working in the hospitality industry, particularly regarding long hours and physical demands.

3. The potential for positive change in the hospitality industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources:

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Chapter Summaries:

(00:00:00) - Tarren Cam is in Melbourne, Australia. It's about 8-10 degrees there. At 7 am, Tarren Cam and his wife give each other half an hour of silence before connecting with each other to create a sacred time of day for themselves and their family. Since he's incorporated the idea of mindfulness into his daily routine, his work has changed.

(00:01:56) - Tarren Cam is a former chef who worked in the hospitality industry. He started at the age of 15, washing dishes in a small town 2 hours away from where he grew up. After traveling around Australia, he applied for an apprenticeship in a restaurant on the other side of the country and got the job. Tarren moved to London and opened a Melbourne-style brunch cafe. Once you get to a certain level, people see you where you're at, and you're diligent and clean. You couldn't have got a better grounding in the industry than to start there. So good on you, man. You're good to yourself.

(00:06:50) - As a young and energetic chef, he threw his body around recklessly and stressed his back out. Now he's aware of the kitchen's physical environment, the importance of posture, and how you're using your body balance. There's a shift occurring in the industry, and he's grateful for COVID 19 Covet has just reopened after a two-week circuit breaker in Melbourne. The service industry, in general, is being exposed to a point where it has to change. The Burnt Chef Project, based out of the UK, is doing an incredible amount of information gathering and studies. RCM wants everybody to win in the hospitality industry. RCM encourages his chefs to focus on being the influence and to listen to each other. He wants to create a team vibe where they look after each other and care for themselves and their health. The first thing I preach is getting your mind right, becoming aware of its patterns, and being aware of who it is driving this vehicle. That is your body. For me, the number of times I tried to get it together and failed was epic because the number one thing wasn't dealt with. Clarity Week is a week-long training for chefs.

(00:23:27) - Terrence is a personal trainer and a chef. He has a new program for his clients called Baby Steps. It's about building a career in health and fitness. Terrence's expertise is human movement. He wants to help his clients to be certain of themselves and take action. Terrence is one of his biggest fans. Terrence is impressed with the way Terrence and his team have built an amazing community in their online kitchen. He believes the industry needs to change and is changing to improve the quality of life for people in the industry.

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Other episodes you'll enjoy:

Kriss Hall of The Burnt Chef Project

The Great Reset

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